This editorial will appear in Wednesday’s print edition.

The Pierce County Council is getting a major makeover this year. Three of its seven members are term-limiting out at the end of this year, and a fourth is seeking re-election. So at least three new faces will be on the council come Jan. 1, 2013.

Of the four races, three will be on the Aug. 7 ballot, with the top two vote-getters in each contest going on to the Nov. 6 general election. The fourth race – District 6 (Lakewood, Steilacoom, Dupont) – has only two candidates, so it will be decided in the general election.

• District 2 (Northeast Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner and Edgewood) – Incumbent Joyce McDonald, a Puyallup Republican and a former five-term state representative, is seeking a second term on the council. She should get it. The only woman on the county’s governing body, McDonald is a pragmatic consensus builder who knows the district well. She has played an important role in the county’s ability to weather the recession without drastic layoffs or cutting the public safety budget. Read more »